Claudia Fragapane- Ready to take on the World

Claudia Fragapane got her start in gymnastics the way many gymnasts do. After bouncing around the house as a child, her parents decided to sign her up for gymnastics classes at a local gym as a way to burn off some energy. By the time she turned six years old she was recommended to enroll at Bristol Hawks Gymnastics Center in Bristol, England- where she still trains today. As a young girl she looked up to her club-mates, Rhian Pugh (2004 Junior European Bar Champion) and Amy Sharp (2009 British Espoir Bar Champion), "I wanted to be like them and push to be better." Claudia told us. Now at the age of sixteen, Fragapane is one of the top gymnasts currently competing for Great Britain and has put her name on everyone's radar. The gymternet got their first taste of Claudia when she competed at the Elite Gym Massilia in 2013, debuting her unique and upbeat floor routine that instantly became a fan favorite. Claudia's coach Helen Potter choreographed the routine and says the inspiration behind it is Claudia herself. "She's a lovely girl to work with and she has a great personality." Helen said "Myself, Rory, and the rest of her coaching team would agree that she's a joy to coach. We have fun everyday that she's in the gym." Claudia's routine may not be your typical elite routine, but the extra spunk and flair that Claudia displays makes it unique and fun. "I like my personality to show in my floor exercise." Claudia adds.

Claudia missed most of last season due to injury, but has come back strong in her senior debut. At the English Championships earlier this year she won gold on vault and placed 3rd all around. Then at the British Championships she placed 2nd on vault and 3rd in the all around and on bars. At those Championships Claudia also debuted a laid out full in on floor- making her the first British gymnast to compete the skill. Despite having the highest difficulty in the competition, Claudia placed 5th on floor in the finals after going out of bounds several times. Shortly after the British Championships Claudia earned herself a spot on the European Championships team- where helped team GB make history. After qualifications Great Britain had qualified to team finals in first place, topping the Romanian and Russian teams by over a point. Individually Claudia qualified 3rd into vault finals and 2nd into floor finals. Although she didn't do as well as she would have liked to in event finals, Claudia still helped Great Britain to a historic 2nd place finish in team finals! "I was delighted to be selected for the European Championships team! It was my first major championships and the experience was a little overwhelming, but also very exciting! I enjoyed being on the podium with our amazing team." Fragapane said. Claudia's raw power makes her a promising vault and floor worker for team GB in the future, however she plans to continue upgrading on all four events and compete as an all around gymnast. The possibilities are endless for Fragapane.

As for the future, Claudia is taking it one day at a time and would like to remain competing for Great Britain with the hopes of qualifying for all the major championships in the future. With Great Britain on the rise, Claudia knows exactly what she and the team must do if they want to be serious contenders on the world stage in the future. "We will do as we always do- word hard and stick to our coaches programs." Fragapane said. Claudia is currently training for the Commonwealth Games that begin on July 28th.